“Today the Vietnamese economy is one of the fastest-growing on earth…We know it is in America’s interests to have partners throughout this region that are thriving, prosperous, and dependent on no one… We want strong partners, not weak neighbors. And above all, we seek friendship.”—President Donald J. Trump

AC Hanoi’s Events for the Public in August 2016

All events take place at 1st Floor of the Rose Garden Tower at 170 Ngoc Khanh Street, Hanoi, except those noted otherwise. Remember to bring your ID with you. Members of the media are welcome to attend public events at the American Center. However, if you intend to being in still or video cameras‎, please contact the Media Team at least 24 hours in advance so we can determine whether the speaker is comfortable and, if so, request security access for your equipment. Please note that not all speakers will want to be filmed and interviewed. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Please Note: In the American Center (AC), we usually record, film and photograph our programs and activities to promote the AC and the work the U.S. Embassy does in Vietnam. We regularly use and post these images on our social media platforms. When participating in American Center programs, you provide your tacit consent for your image to be used in this way. If you prefer that your image not be used for non-commercial publicity reasons, please provide your request in writing to a staff member at the Help Desk. Thank you.

Conversation Hour

Fridays, 10:00 – 11:00 am
David McAuley
Call it a conversation, or any one of this word’s synonyms – chat, colloquy, converse, dialog, discussion, etc. – this is an hour of informal talk and your opportunity to improve your English speaking and listening skills. An American host of the hour will introduce a topic and guide you through discussion around it. Come to chat and learn. Bring your friends and make even more friends!

American English Club

American Center Interns
Come join our American English Club to improve your English speaking skills and enhance your English vocabularies on variety of topics. This club is also a good chance for you to meet new friends and enjoy lot of fun games, discussions and activities.

AC Student News

American Center Interns

Adapted from the CNN Student News, this program encouraged participants to reflect on and discuss international issues, while using opportunity to sharpen English language skills, especially listening and speaking.

Debate Club

American Center Interns

The goal of the American Center’s Debate Club is to create friendly environment where anyone can express and freely debate their ideas on interesting current topics. So if you like to analyze facts, communicates openly, or just interested in debate please make your way to the AC to join our club.

Introduction to eLibraryUSA

Fridays, 11:00 – 11:30 am

eLibraryUSA is an online library with free access to 30+ up-to-date databases including researches, journals, books, articles, encyclopedias, films, photographs, magazines, topics and references for students, teachers, youth, businessmen and kids. Please come join in our orientation session to learn more about a plentiful and helpful resource of information, then you can register to get your own login account to access to eLibraryUSA from any Internet connection.

Pronunciation Workshop

Thursdays, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Amy Baum

This 7-week pronunciation course focuses on the pronunciation features of American English and will help students improve their awareness and production of various aspects of pronunciation. Topics include consonant and vowel sounds, stress, intonation, rhythm, and problem areas for Vietnamese speakers of English.

The American Civil War

With America having recently commemorated the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, Dr. Ron Milam, a professor of history at Texas Tech University and a Fulbright Scholar to Vietnam will explore the tragic conflict that tore America apart, and how order was eventually restored.

Vocabulary Building

August 16, 23, 25, 30, 10:00 – 11:00 am
Tammy Dewan

Develop vocabulary through games. We will play popular American games, such as Concentration, Simon Says and Family Feud. You will build your vocabulary while learning about American culture.

60 Minutes with the Press Officer

Would you like to know what’s in the U.S. news? Would you like to chat with the U.S. Embassy’s Press Officer Lisa Bess Wishman? If so, please plan to join her at the American Center on the first Wednesday of every month from 3:30 – 4:30. Lisa, a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, has served in Tel Aviv, Israel; Ottawa, Canada; and Washington, D.C. After having studied Vietnamese in Hanoi for 11 months, she assumed her position as the Embassy’s press officer in August 2014 and will remain in Vietnam through summer 2016. She looks forward to getting to know you better.

Leadership Skills Training

August 10, 2:00 – 3:30
Kristin Hayden, Oneworldnow

The “VisionBoost Workshop” is an energizing interactive session on vision Building to inspire and unleash life’s possibilities for the change you want to make in the world. Participants are led through a dynamic presentation, facilitated activities, writing exercises and simulations. In this journey to Vision, we will have the opportunity to develop personal Vision Statements as well as declare, share and explore our greatest aspirations. Whether developing your Vision or needing that boost to make it happen, participants will walk-away with daily practices, tools and inspiration to support creating their biggest possibility!

Leadership Skills for Social Entrepreneurs Camp is a two-day program offered by the U.S Embassy Hanoi through VSEED (Vietnam Social Entrepreneurship Empowerment and Development). The camp provides social entrepreneurs the unique opportunity to learn new strategies to improve their businesses.

Participants will learn from Vietnamese and American social entrepreneur experts on social entrepreneurship skills, especially on Marketing, Human Resources, Finance and Operations as well as receiving individualized or group mentorship on case studies. Besides all that, participants will also have the chance to network with potential partners for future cooperation.

Participants must come from Northern Vietnam. Transportation and accommodations are fully-funded.

Leadership Skills and Entrepreneurship Skills for LGBTI Community Members

August 13, 9:00 – 3:00
Kristin Hayden
(Interpreter is provided)

As a LGBTI community member, do you face challenges and barriers in life? Do you want to become a leader and advocate for LGBTI rights? Do you want to learn/improve your entrepreneurship/business skills? Come join our full-day workshop “Leadership and entrepreneurship skills for LGBTI community members” to inspire and unleash life’s possibilities for the change you want to make in the world. Do you want to learn how to market and brand your projects? This full-day workshop will be for you.

Registration is required to facilitate access. Lunch will be provided. Register here by close of business day on August 11, 2016.

Speaker’s bio: Kristin Hayden, Social Entrepreneur, Movement Builder, Visionary
Kristin Hayden has spent her career creating opportunities for leadership and greater global engagement among historically underprivileged groups. She is an Ashoka Fellow and the Official Spokesperson for the Global Access Pipeline. She is currently the Chief Partnership Officer for IGNITE in San Francisco, building a national movement to inspire young women to run for political office. She is also the co-founder of VisionVenture, the social enterprise that inspires, equips, accelerates and invests in changemakers’ Visions. In 2002, she founded OneWorld Now!, an award-winning global leadership program for low-income and minority youth based in Seattle, which has been hailed as one of the most innovative after school programs in the USA. She has lived and worked in Russia, Georgia, France, and the UK, and speaks Russian with professional proficiency. She has also worked on projects and exchanges in Brazil, Japan, China, Morocco, Jordan and Qatar. Kristin is a high-energy, sought-after speaker on vision, diversity and inclusion, global leadership, women’s and girls’ leadership, and social entrepreneurship for audiences ranging from high school-aged youth to aspiring and established leaders.

Future of U.S. Engagement in Southeast Asia

August 16, 3:30 – 5:00 pm
Ralph Cossa, Pacific Forum CSIS

Ralph Cossa will address the Obama administration pivot to Asia: Is it real? Is it aimed at China? Is it sustainable? Will it be sustained into the next U.S. administration? How does Vietnam/ASEAN fit into this equation?

Speaker’s Biography:
Ralph Cossa is president of the Pacific Forum CSIS, a Honolulu-based foreign policy research institute affiliated with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC and senior editor of the Forum’s electronic journal, Comparative Connections. He is the primary US representative and former international co-chair of the ASEAN Regional Forum Experts and Eminent Persons Group, as well as a founding member and current co-chair of the multinational Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP). He is a political/military affairs and national security specialist with more than 40 years of experience in analyzing U.S. Asia-Pacific security policy. He holds a B.A. in international relations from Syracuse University, an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University, and an M.S. in strategic studies from the Defense Intelligence College and an honorary Doctorate in International Relations from the University of Cambodia for his lifetime of work in promoting peace and stability in East Asia.

Freedom to Marry Movement in the U.S.

August 18, 3:00 – 4:30 pm
Evan Wolfson, Guest Speaker

Evan Wolfson was founder and president of Freedom to Marry, the campaign that won marriage in the United States, and is widely considered the architect of the movement that led to nationwide victory in 2015. Wolfson now devotes his time to advising and assisting diverse movements and causes in the U.S. and around the world eager to adapt the model and apply the lessons that made the Freedom to Marry campaign so successful. Please come and listen to Mr. Wolfson speak about his inspiration that sustained the fight for marriage equality and his advocacy for equality at the American Center on Thursday, August 18 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. An interpreter is provided for this program.

U.S. Foreign Policy in Asia: Politics and the 2016 Elections

August 19, 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Walter Lohman, Heritage Foundation

It is a particularly tumultuous election year in the U.S. There are several pieces at play – the Presidential election, but also majorities at stake in the House and Senate. There are party differences and intra-party differences over foreign policy and trade. There are also prospects for cross-party alliances on the same. What should friends and allies in Asia expect when all is said and done?

U.S. Law

August 26, 3:30 – 5:00 pm
Judge Allyson Key Duncan

Speaker’s Biography:Following unanimous Senate confirmation, Judge Allyson Kay Duncan was sworn into office as a Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on August 15, 2003, becoming the first African American woman to sit on that Court. Her professional career has been marked by a number of similar such “firsts:” Among others, she was also the first African American woman to sit on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and the first African American to serve as the President of the North Carolina Bar Association.

The bulk of Judge Duncan’s career has been in public service. After graduating from Hampton University and Duke University School of Law, she served as a law clerk to Judge Julia Cooper Mack of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. From there she joined the Appellate Division of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, arguing employment discrimination cases in federal courts of appeals around the country, ultimately rising through the ranks to serve as the agency’s Legal Counsel.

Judge Duncan returned to her home in North Carolina in 1986 to become an Associate Professor of Law at North Carolina Central University. She taught labor and employment law, and appellate practice, co-authoring the first text book on North Carolina Appellate Advocacy. After serving briefly on the North Carolina Court of Appeals she was appointed to the North Carolina Public Utilities Commission, where she specialized in issues involving telecommunications and electric industry restructuring. She carried that expertise into private practice, becoming a partner in a national law firm representing telecom and energy clients, until her appointment to the Fourth Circuit.

Since joining the bench, Judge Duncan has become active in the international arena as well. After serving on its Board of Directors and International Committees, she became President of the Federal Judges Association in May of 2015. In that role she represents the federal judiciary in the International Association of Judges, which is headquartered in Rome. In October of 2015, United States Chief Justice John Roberts appointed her to chair the International Judicial Relations Committee of the U.S. Judicial Conference. In serving on the Committee, she has traveled extensively, speaking and working on topics involving Human Rights law, Counter-Terrorism, Trademark and Copyright Infringement, and Appellate Practice and Procedure.

Judge Duncan also remains active in her profession and community, serving on, among others, the Duke University Board of Trustees, where she chairs the Academic Affairs Committee.

She is married to former U.S. Magistrate Judge William A. Webb, and they have a son, Charles. She enjoys knitting, gardening, and tending and collecting orchids. In 2014, the Royal Horticultural Society in London named an orchid for her: Rhyncholaliocattleya the Hon. Allyson Duncan.

U.S. Elections

August 26, 3:00 – 4:30 pm
James Przstup and Thomas Hammes

Speakers’ Biographies:

Dr. James J. Przystup is senior fellow and research professor in the Institute of National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. Previously, he was Director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation, a staff member on the US House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, and director for Regional Security Strategies on the Policy Planning Staff in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He worked in the private sector at Itochu and IBM. Dr. Przystup graduated from the University of Detroit and holds an M.A. in International Relations and a Ph.D. in Diplomatic History from the University of Chicago. He’s a non-staff contributor at the Heritage Foundation.

Dr. T.X. Hammes is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the U.S. National Defense University. He retired as a colonel after serving 30 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He has a BS from the U.S. Naval Academy and a Masters and Doctorate in Modern History from Oxford University. His research focus is on future conflict and strategic trends. His recent work has explored how technological convergence is leading to a diffusion of military power and economic deglobalization.

Pronunciation Workshop 3

Tuesdays, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Melissa Judy

This 12-week pronunciation course focuses on the pronunciation features of American English and will help students improve their awareness and production of various aspects of pronunciation. Topics include consonant and vowel sounds, stress, intonation, rhythm, and problem areas for Vietnamese speakers of English.

Final Round Competition of the Ambassador’s Entrepreneurship Challenge

Aug. 31, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
U.S. Embassy Hanoi

After four months of preparation, 11 regional winners from all over the country have been selected for the final round. Congratulations to all! The finalists will have an opportunity to meet angel investors and start-up professionals, who will offer advice and training, in preparation for the final competition round. The final pitch competition will be on August 31 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, when the finalists will publicly showcase their products. Please come to join us in this wonderful program in order to support and encourage Vietnam’s young entrepreneurs, as well as to learn from their start-up experiences. The program takes place at the American Center Hanoi, Rose Garden Tower, 170 Ngọc Khánh Street, Hà Nội. Don’t forget to bring your friends!

U.S. Embassy

U.S. Consulate Ho Chi Minh City

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